Oscars for Oysters. Market Menu a Winner

Oscars for Oysters

Market Menu a Winner

If I had some Oscar statuettes handy last Wednesday evening, I’d have been handing them out to the crew at Oysters. Best restaurant! Best chef! Best of everything! No doubt I'd have got a few arguments from city rivals but their Market Menu, served every Wednesday, is brilliant and, with four beautifully cooked courses for twenty five euro, outstanding value.

Head Chef Alex Petit is a regular at the English Market and his well trained eye picks out the best available for this weekly treat. You won't have a choice here. But I learned a long time ago, in a small back street French restaurant where the menu had “selon jour” attached, that a no-choice list can be surprisingly brilliant. Besides, you waste no time going through the menu: the job has been done for you.

And that is the case here. As I sipped a Kir and tucked into the lovely breads, served with Lemon Butter and also scallop and herb mousse, we read the short list for last Wednesday's Market Menu and were immediately impressed. Even more so when a terrific amuse bouche - Smoked salmon and poached pear - arrived.

First course were Oysterhaven Rock Oysters, fresh and tangy and the best I’ve had in Ireland with a while.

Piano music was now drifting across the room and we had moved on to the wine, a pretty good glass of Illuminati Riparosso Montepulciano (€8.00), in readiness for the main course: 19 hour braised Irish beef cheek, squash fondant, wild mushroom, smoked beurre blanc. And served with a side dish of tasty potatoes. This was a brilliant treat, melt in the mouth stuff and some great flavours on the palate. It was worth the twenty five euro on its own!

Next up was Bellingham Blue Cheese, served with poached pear and raspberry dressing. This is an award winning cheese from County Louth, a fine full flavoured Irish farmhouse cheese, made from cow’s milk. Very good indeed.

We had a superb lingering finish with the Rosscarbery strawberries and Hibiscus syrup. This looked very tempting and delivered on that promise. The strawberries were cut into tiny cubes and that made us linger and drool all the more. Terrific finish to an excellent meal. Very Highly Recommended.

Oysters, under proprietor Donald Morrissey, is a great supporter of local producers and suppliers listed on the main menu include O’Connell Seafood, Seafood Cuisine (Skibbereen), David Busby (Fruits), Keeling Fruit and Vegetables, Waterfall Farm, Ballyhoura  Mushrooms, O'Mahony Butchers, On the Pig’s Back, Max e’ Mattia Italicatessen, Michelle Wild Seaweed, Arbutus Bakery and Mr Darragh Brady The Clarion.

Oysters

5 Lapps Quay,

Cork

(In the Clarion Hotel)

Phone	(021) 427 3777
Website	https://www.oysters.ie

Be sure and check their facebook site and note the free bottle of wine offer for the month!

Orphans. Play for Penny Dinners.

Prodeeds from show are going to Cork's Penny Dinners

Church Lane. Holy Tapas!

Church Lane

Holy Tapas!

When you're travelling between Killarney and Cork and need an evening bite, but not a full evening meal, where do you stop? I asked myself that question one evening last week and Church Lane in Macroom came to mind. Not quite. I must admit, I thought of Chapel Lane but a quick google search on the phone yielded the correct name Church Lane. It turned out to be a terrific choice.

The multi-roomed restaurant, which supports local producers, is right along side an old churchyard in Macroom and has a large enough outside space and it was there that we were seated.

Church Lane’s philosophy “is to serve food that is naturally full of flavour and goodness by cooking with seasonal ingredients locally sourced and from places we trust. West Cork and the locality is full of really excellent food producers and our menu showcases the best of local and artisan produce”.

Quickly decided on the wine and picked the Grant Burge Chardonnay Viognier (Australia) 2012, (€6.00 a glass) and the Lamberti Santepietre Pinot Grigio (Italy) 2013, (€6.20). Then we sat back in the sun. Water, breads, and menus were quickly delivered and we concentrated on the tapas menu. Really, most of them were small plates, more or less starter portions, and most cost just under a fiver.

They have quite a  selection; some meat based, some fish based and some veggie options. As it turned out, the pair we choose were vegetarian and both were absolutely first class, a terrific balance of flavours and really well cooked. We thoroughly enjoyed the Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with a red pepper bisque and shaved Parmesan (4.95) and Roasted Aubergine with tomato chickpea, spinach and smoked cheese (4.50).

Some others on the list were Roasted Red Pepper filled with spicy beef (4.50) and Calamari with a Thyme and Tabasco Sauce (5.00). The cooking skills shown in the tapas are almost sure to be evident in the main menus (there’s no reason why they shouldn't be) and so another visit to Church Lane is on the cards.

They have two Sharing Plates listed on the Tapas Menu. One is a Mediterranean Charcuterie and Cheese Selection. The other, our choice on this occasion, was the Seafood Platter (smoked salmon, poached salmon, prawns, crab meat, and anchovies, all served with three dips and more bread, all for €19.95). This was another excellent combination of contrasting flavours and textures and, as we had eaten earlier in the day, was a perfect solution for this pair of travellers!

Church Lane

Castle Street

Macroom

County Cork

Phone	(026) 23402
Email	churchlanerestaurant@hotmail.com
Website	http://www.churchlanerestaurant.ie

Hours

Wed - Sat: 12:00 pm - 9:30 pm Sun: 12:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Amuse Bouche

I scan the room, searching for the man…. The interior of the juke isn’t as dim as I expected, but it smells like every other one I’ve entered in my life. The first wave of odors confuses the olfactory senses - a strange brew of delicious aromas and suspicious funk. Frying chicken, sizzling lard, baking biscuits, fresh corn bread, and onions battle dead fish, stale beer, old garbage, disinfectant, sugary wine, and cigarette smoke… The flashing jukebox in the corner sends Bobby “Blue” Bland throughout the club with bone-shaking bass.

from Natchez Burning by Greg Iles.

Heather’s Sunny Opening. New Gap of Dunloe Restaurant.

Heather’s Sunny Opening
New Gap of Dunloe Restaurant

Rachel Allen and Denis Pio Moriarty at Heather opening.

The sun shone, the band played, the crowd came, saw and approved as Heather, the new restaurant at The Gap of Dunloe, was officially opened by Rachel Allen yesterday. Ailish and Denis Pio Moriarty are the enterprising couple behind Heather, on the same site where Denis Pio’s parents established a shop, “in a shed”, fifty years ago. Amazingly that little shop has grown gradually into an amazing place.

Still some growing to do though. Ailish and Denis Pio have invested here both in the restaurant and in the large split level garden around it. The gardens looked well yesterday but I’m really looking forward to seeing them fully in bloom come next summer.

Rachel Allen, who obviously enjoyed the engagement, immediately saw similarities between the Moriartys and her own family, noting their shared commitment to good Irish food. And the Moriartys had some of their producers there yesterday, including Mountain Man and his craft beers, some gorgeous Kerry cheeses, Sasta Sausages (long queues for their products!), and Maurice Gilbert of Ballyhoura Apples with his great range of apple drinks.

Knockatee cheese

By the way, the gardens, which have amazing views towards the famous Gap of Dunloe, are not entirely decorative. Many fruit bushes have been planted on the slopes and the fruits will be used for jams, relishes and chutneys. And just across the little river that runs in front of the shop and restaurant, the newly built polytunnel is already producing salads and edible flowers for the restaurant and Head Chef Christian Conte is making the best of them.

Lots of samples from the kitchen were available for the guests yesterday. The wine flowed but the most popular drink was the Elderflower and Sparkling Water Cordial. That went down well with young and old and beat tea into second place!

Clare, Yours Truly, Jennifer and Karen

Delighted to meet up with Ailish and Denis Pio again and also with restaurant manager Jennifer Dowling. Also with Greg Canty and Deirdre Waldron of Fuzion who helped make the relaxed event run like clockwork - not that they were waving stop watches or anything. No shortage of tweeters either and we enjoyed the chats with Karen Coakley and Elke O’Mahony.

Heather is now up and running, a far cry from the time when young budding entrepreneur Michael Moriarty went up the mountain many years ago to pick bunches of heather flowers to sell to the passing tourists. A little enterprise goes a long long way!

A lovely day and I’m sure there’ll be many many more of them in the years to come.

Taste of the Week and A Toast to Humphrey J. Lynch

Taste of the Week
and A Toast to Humphrey J. Lynch

The Cotton Ball in Mayfield was purchased in the 1870's by Humphrey J. Lynch. Humphrey was born in 1841 in Ballyvourney, Co.Cork. He left for America at the age 15, working various jobs until the American civil war broke out. He was one of the first to enlist and last to be discharged.

He went in as private of the 4th U.S Artillery battery H, and came out a sergeant. Of 208 who enlisted when he did there were only three of the original ones left when the battery mustered out. After the war he worked for 14 years as a foreman of the picker room in Newburyport cotton mill. And that is where the name Cotton Ball came from.

Nowadays his great grandson, also Humphrey, is the brewer at the Cotton and produced this Indian Summer for the season. It is quite a lovely drink for these days - and more of them to come hopefully - a well judged mix of lager ingredients and an ale yeast and our Taste of the Week.

So lift your glass with me in a toast to Humphrey the soldier and once again to Humphrey the brewer!

Cork's Coqbull On An Early Charge

Coqbull On An Early Charge

No cock and bull story here

Coqbull, Cork's latest city centre dining option, is just six weeks up and has hit the road running. Spanning a speakeasy kind of space, booths and all, not to mention galvanised iron and milking parlour lights, between Academy Street and French Church Street, the French quarter venue is already a hit.

They were so busy on Friday night I couldn't get in to taste that sweet tea chicken, but no bother this Tuesday at lunch-time, not that it was slack, far from it as a steady flow of punters streamed through the door, doors I should say, as it has entrances on both streets.

Chris is the manager here and he has an excellent staff. Great courtesy and efficiency out front and no lack of talent in the kitchen. Did you hear me say sweet tea chicken? You sure did. Like in your great grandmother’s day, the chicken here is marinated in sweet Barry's tea and is all the better for it as we found out when we sampled, delighted with its superb texture and flavour, not to mention the spot-on cooking.

But we were here for the bull!  Oh and the beer, of course. I’m quite a fan of Black’s Brewery (Kinsale) and of their ales in particular and so was immediately interested when I saw their Session on the list. Noted it was just 3.5% ABV. It might be a little shy on the alcohol but no lack of flavour and it is blessed with a well judged balancing bitterness. Quite a beer. One to note for a session for sure!

Burgers are made in house from prime cuts and 100% traceable from local Irish beef.There is quite a selection (most at €10.00) from Bacon Bull, Chilli Bull, Forest Bull, even Bunless Bull. My choice was the Supreme Bull (12.50). I had spotted my favourite Cashel Blue cheese in the mix here and the other ingredients were bone marrow and crisp onion. And fries of course!

CL picked the Bacon Bull (10.00), the bull here reinforced by bacon, cheddar, onion and Coqbull sauce and she had no bother in dispatching that tasty combination. Mine too was superb and, after the beer, I was beginning to feel full.

But we weren't leaving without dessert! They have a short but tempting list. And the sweet things that we finished with were the Coqbull Strawberry Crush (for me) and the Banana Split. Very enjoyable indeed.

It is not all coq and bull here. You may have various salads and also Slow Roasted Pork Ribs at lunch-time (12.00 to 2.30) and later, when the main menu kicks in, the choices increase.

Many craft beers and ciders are available by the bottle and some mainstream (Heineken and Tiger) available on draught. House wines start at a fiver a glass and they also carry a range of Fentimans soft drinks along with a  couple of Moqtails!

The Cornstore and Executive Chef Mike Ryan seem to be on a winner with this offshoot and I’ll be back soon to check out the evening menu and the atmosphere behind the galvanised iron and under the milking parlour lights, all rather appropriate considering the restaurant’s title!

A Good Old Time in Castlemartyr

A Good Old Time in Castlemartyr
John Saul Picnic and Vintage Fair

The Castlemartyr Resort was the place to be in sunny East Cork last Monday (yesterday) and I joined the thousands that flowed through the gates to enjoy the John Saul Picnic and Vintage Festival in aid of the East Cork Rapid Response and other local organisations.

After parking (no shortage of stewards to help out), I enjoyed the walk through the grounds and past the castle ruins before coming round to the front of the hotel, finally reaching the fields in front  where much of the action was taking place.

The first big event that I saw was the parade of horses and carriages, each carrying a “Victorian” lady or two. The parade entered the grounds having first toured the village and then passed the front of the hotel before doing the rounds of the fair fields. And that wasn’t the end of the horses as we were treated to quite an exhibition, the well turned out animals put through their paces. Great discipline on display from the various units, ranging from some with just one pony to larger carriages with up to four and indeed it was one superb combination, with the four blacks together, that was a highlight for me.

Lunchtime was fast approaching. Unlike some, particularly the family groups, we hadn’t brought our picnic. But no panic.  We were in the right place with a good variety of stalls catering, everything from crepes to pulled pork available.

Spotted Annie’s Roasts in the line-up and didn’t go beyond her as she has a great name at markets and festivals all over the county. Helped myself to one of the free range chicken burgers with salad and mayonnaise and a drink, all for a fiver. Grabbed a bale of straw as a seat and tucked in and enjoyed it no end. Great stuff as usual from Annie.

Annie's Roasts. No picnic? No panic!

As we ate and drank we were entertained by the the kids in the face painting tent, one of the most popular venues of the day.  Indeed the kids were royally entertained throughout with foot races for various age groups, pottery lessons, a Teddy Bear hospital, and other amusements, such as swing-boats and carousels available.

Le Chat Noir Vintage Fair was also a major draw with specialists in clothes, jewelry and music and song (all on vinyl)  displaying their wares, some new, some old, but all reminding one of times past. Noticed quite a few of the “Victorian” ladies checking out the stalls here!

Some toys too for the bigs boys! I’m talking vintage cars here. Everything from modest Volkswagens to big red Fords. There was  an impressive Buick but my favourite was the Silver Beresford, a top class limousine according to the sticker!

One of the highlights of the day was the old time threshing, a busy spot with a bunch of small tractors around the big thresher and not a bottle of porter in sight. Could have done with some liquid though as the chaff in the air dried out the mouth. But great fun (great noise too, giving the band a run for its money) as the sheaves were tossed to the man in the thresher and the grain came out one end to be bagged and the straw out the other to be baled by an old Allis Chalmers Roto-Baler.

Hard work for the crew here but great fun for the spectators, many of who had never seen anything like it. All in all though a terrific day out and if you are a parent with kids, put this in your diary for next year.

Amuse Bouche

Murphy’s four hundred thieves keep coming to Monto for entertainment every night, even as they wreak famine on the working families of the area by day. But some of the Monto girls donate food or money at the Liberty Hall. You have to sneak them in the back door – if your workers or their wives knew where their meal came from, the food would turn to ash in their mouths. Every now and then, Peggy O’Hara makes you liver and onions, and by God, you’re grateful for it.

from After the Lockout by Darran McCann

Top Posts for Past 12 Months. Almost 10,000 hits for Bandon restaurant post!

Top Posts for Past 12 Months

(to end of Jul ‘14)

Pork Belly at Pier 26

Almost 10,000 hits for Bandon restaurant post!

Welcome to the newcomers to this list. Minimum of 700 hits required.

Some posts keep the attention, long after the first publication. Take Busy at the Chapel Steps, for instance. This post on the Bandon restaurant, first posted in November 2012, still has its fans and close to 10,000 hits. Amazing!

1 Happy Gaggle of Wine Geese

2 The Square Table - Great Addition to Blarney

3 Happy New Beer at The Cotton Ball

4 Electric. Easy to book. Hard to leave.

5 The Sultan of Penrose Quay

6 The Chapel Steps Celebrates

7 Pride of Ireland Awards 2013/14

8 Dining in Style at Pier 26

9  Jack McCarthy Butchers. An Afternoon in Kanturk.

10 Schull Country Market

11 Discover the magic of Barnabrow

12 Good Food Ireland Conference and Awards

13 Slow and Low at the Chicken Inn. Swing by. And Buy.

Cono Sur Want Your Recipes! Superb Prize

Cono Sur Want Your Recipes!

Superb Prize

Duck is regularly mentioned as a match with Pinot Noir. Not too sure about geese though!

Cono Sur Single Vineyard (No. 21 Viento Mar) Pinot Noir, Chile 2012, 14%, for availability - see below

St Antonio, west of the capital Santiago and very close to the ocean with a climate ideal for Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is where this excellent wine comes from. You may know that Cono Sur are running a recipe competition, with a fantastic prize of a trip for two to Chile.

They are asking for your ideal dish to match with either their Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc or this Pinot Noir. Closing date is Monday 11th of August and you may see all the details here .

To see my recipe attempt and extensive tasting notes on both the Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot Noir, please click here . I guess not all of you are interested in creating a recipe but I can heartily recommend that you take a look at these two wines as both are top notch.

I enjoyed a bottle of the Pinot during the week and it is going straight on to my Top Wines for 2014. Colour is mid ruby and the pretty intense aromas hint of red berries. Concentrated is the word on the label and every appropriate indeed. Smooth too, warm with spicy notes, with silky soft tannins and a delightfully long finish. One of the best Pinot Noir I’ve come across recently and Very Highly Recommended.

Availability: Cono Sur Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are available exclusively in the on-trade and specialist off-licences such as O’Briens Wines, nationwide; Mitchell & Sons, Dublin; Redmonds of Ranelagh, Dublin; Sweeney's of Glasnevin, Dublin; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, Dublin; Bradley's of Cork; O’Driscoll's of Cork.

Griffin’s Spinning Wheel Unveils Gorgeous Gluten Free Options!

Griffin’s Spinning Wheel Unveils Gorgeous Gluten Free Options!

Sweet GF! Don't forget, today is Fiver Friday at the Spinning Wheel.

Paid a visit to the beautiful Griffin's Garden Centre on the banks of the Lee in midweek and came home from the Dripsey venue with a Eco-Friendly Champion Anthurium. I can’t eat it - that’s what the label clearly says!

But I ate more than enough as the main purpose of the trip on a sunny aftenroon was to check out the new range of gluten free food that they have in their lovely river-side Spinning Wheel Restaurant, a very busy spot indeed. It is open 9.00 to 5.30, so you may have breakfast and lunch here and lots more besides.

Miriam, who invited me out, told me they  “have been working hard with our head chef, bakery team and customers to ensure that we have a large range of gluten free meals, cakes, scones, desserts and breads available at all times from our customers. We will always have gourmet options for coeliacs and people who wish to live a gluten free life.”

GF samples: Chicken salad, Fish Pie, and, right, breakfast options

"We offer a range of gluten free breakfasts from gluten free scones, breads, omelettes and full Irish Breakfast. Gluten free quality sausages are  available on our breakfast menu. A range of gluten free sausages have been taste tested by our customers and restaurant team. And the best have been given the Granny Griffin seal of approval and are now on the menu.Throughout the day, we are constantly baking gluten free scones, bread and desserts that are available to eat in our restaurant or to take away.”

“Our Lunch Menu has one the largest ranges of gluten free options in Cork. Lunch is served from 12 to 3pm. We have two options of soups every day which are both gluten free. Over 80% of our  salads are Gluten free including an option of gluten free quiche. So for a light lunch option you have a choice of soup, quiche and salad or a vibrant flavoursome open Sandwich.”

“Our head chef is always creating new and improved gluten free lunches. The majority of sauces created in our kitchens are gluten free. Each gluten free meal is well signed to inform the customer. A expansive range of Gluten free desserts and Cakes are also available in the restaurant,  Pavlova, apple tart, brownies, orange and almond cake are just to name a few. And why not try our gluten free Afternoon tea. Pre booking is essential for all Afternoon Tea.”

More sweet stuff!

Chef Chris took me through the tasty options, starting with those Clonakilty Sausages and puddings which he tested on the visitors at last week’s World Feeder Fishing Championships. He uses the black pudding too in a delicious salad. Perhaps the top salad I tasted was the Caesar, great tasting chicken from his Macroom supplier and gluten free croutons that tasted better than the average.

And most impressive of all, I thought, was the Fish Pie, the excellent cornflour sauce recently developed by Chris. Many people think that Gluten Free food is bland, as Chris said. But this tasting plateful was full of great flavors, proof positive of the exact opposite.

The restaurant manager Helen introduced us to Pastry Chef Mary and what a belt bursting selection she had for us, everything from a simple scone to Pavlova to a stunning Chocolate cake. No penance going GF with these kind of goodies on offer!

Creme Brûlée
To get the best from this, and other Heuchera, plant it a little proud of the earth!

Aided by copious cups of coffee, we finally managed to get up from the table and enjoyed a stroll around the magnificent garden centre which will be familiar to many of you. Had another chat with Miriam and got lots of gardening advice!

They also have a home section and that includes an indoor plant display and it was here that we bought the Anthurium, pictured left!

* You have an even better excuse than usual to visit Griffin's today. It is Friday and they have a Fiver Friday offer in the restaurant. Check it out here.

The Spinning Wheel Restaurant